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Lighting design for school classrooms based on educational activities and spatial characteristics
KTH, School of Architecture and the Built Environment (ABE), Architecture, Lighting Design.ORCID iD: 0000-0001-8768-7113
KTH, School of Architecture and the Built Environment (ABE), Architecture, Architecture, Technique and Theory.ORCID iD: 0000-0003-2432-7617
KTH, School of Architecture and the Built Environment (ABE), Architecture, Lighting Design.ORCID iD: 0000-0002-2443-7640
(English)Manuscript (preprint) (Other academic)
Abstract [en]

This article presents a three year long observational study in a learning environment and the development of design steps that led to a lighting proposal for two primary school classrooms. An analysis of learning activities along with the related spatial characteristics, including furniture and lighting configurations, are described and compose the basis for the lighting design proposal. A series of sketches, photo registrations, and discussions with the teachers working in these classrooms were used to register and collect information. Sketches and floor plans were compared in order to register furniture and lighting changes, and notes from the observation logs were compiled to identify usage patterns and types of learning activities. The analysis resulted in outlining six typical learning activities that can be grouped into three broader groups, each encompassing a distinct use of classroom furniture andtools. Based on these findings, the project developed lighting scenarios for each of the six identified activities, with a variation in light distribution and intensity to cater to different needs. The study concludes with a discussion suggesting a generalised design process model by combining input from lighting guideline documents and site-specific characteristics. This model outlines how a generalised process can incorporate site-specific attributes for lighting interventions in learning environments.

Keywords [en]
lighting design, lighting distribution, primary schools, educational activity, design application
National Category
Design
Research subject
Architecture, Architectural Design; Architecture, Architectural Design
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-372109OAI: oai:DiVA.org:kth-372109DiVA, id: diva2:2009163
Projects
Ljus i skolmiljöer (LiSE)
Funder
Bertil & Britt Svenssons Stiftelse för Belysningsteknik, 2020 v\u00E5r-29Swedish Energy Agency, P2020-90036
Note

QC 20251027

Available from: 2025-10-27 Created: 2025-10-27 Last updated: 2025-10-27Bibliographically approved
In thesis
1. Lighting for educational spaces: Designing spatial lighting distribution for school classrooms
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Lighting for educational spaces: Designing spatial lighting distribution for school classrooms
2025 (English)Doctoral thesis, comprehensive summary (Other academic)
Abstract [en]

The following dissertation explores lighting design proposals for educational spaces focusing on children's activities and vantage points. The research project includes a field study within which spatial distribution acts as a lighting variable for defining light scenes according to different learning activities and pupils' viewpoints. From a design and intervention perspective, pupils' experiences are incorporated through direct and indirect collaborations across the research project. Aspects of spatial perception, visual development, human scale, and ergonomics are among the research areas setting the foundation to explore children's perception and vantage points. Workshops, as participatory methods, were used to involve pupils and teachers in activities and discussions, before the installation of new lighting at the school. Lighting was designed, measured, and evaluated considering design parameters targeted at 10-to-12-year-old pupils. An experimental field study was carried out to assess how spatial lighting distribution influences creativity and attention, using standardized tests to explore potential correlations between lighting changes and performance outcomes. Results suggested that lighting can positively affect attention, although no significant difference was registered in creativity performance. The projects result in synthesizing guidelines towards a child-based design structure to explore and analyse educational spaces from a perspective closer to children. The proposed model (Child-lens Lighting & Space Model) is introduced, as an outcome of synthesized theories from architectural design, cognitive science and pedagogy, and empirical knowledge from the field study addressing pupils’ perspectives. This model provides a foundation for child-centred lighting design approaches, suggesting steps to design proposals through collaborations with children and pupils as the primary users.

Abstract [sv]

Denna avhandling undersöker förslag på ljusdesign för utbildningsmiljöer utifrån elever aktiviteter och blickpunkter. En del av forskningsprojektet består av en fältstudie, genomförd på en skola i norra Sverige. I studien används en ljusvariabel för rumslig fördelning av belysning, denna användes för att skapa ljusscener som baseras på läraktiviteter som utgår ifrån elevernas perspektiv.

Elevernas synpunkter, ur ett design- och interventionsperspektiv, integreras genom direkta och indirekta samarbeten under forskningsprojektets olika faser. Dessa eleverfaser är definierade och följer principerna för design thinking-modellen. Aspekter som rumslig perception, visuell utveckling, mänsklig skala och ergonomi är bland de forskningsdiscipliner som utgör grunden för att undersöka elevernas perception och blickpunkter.

Bakgrundskunskap från forskningsfält som arkitekturdesign, kognitionsvetenskap, pedagogik, ergonomi och ljusforskning kombineras för att belysa den befintliga komplexiteten i utbildningsmiljöer och behovet av tvärvetenskapliga samarbeten föratt hantera interventioner och designförslag.

Deltagande metoder applicerades för att involvera elever och lärare, resultaten avdessa deltagande metoder ligger sedan som grund för installationen av den nya belysningen i skolan. Workshops var en av de främsta deltagande metoderna, bestående av aktiviteter och diskussioner. Dessa aktiviteter anpassades och följde skolans läroplan och värdegrund. Ljusdesignen utformades, mättes och utvärderades med hänsyn till designparametrar riktade till elever i åldrarna 10–12 år, med särskilt beaktande av skillnader mellan vuxnas och elevers ögonhöjd. Den rumsliga ljusfördelningen utvärderades genom en experimentell fältstudie där kreativitet och uppmärksamhet bedömdes med hjälp av standardiserade tester för att kartlägga potentiella samband mellan ljusförändringar och testresultat.

Resultaten indikerade att belysning kan påverka uppmärksamheten positivt, även om ingen signifikant skillnad registrerades i kreativitetsprestation. Projektet resulterade i en syntes av riktlinjer för en elevbaserad designstruktur för att utforska och analysera utbildningsmiljöer ur ett elevperspektiv. En föreslagen modell (Child-lens Lighting & Space Model) introduceras som ett resultat av syntetiserade teorier från arkitekturdesign, kognitionsvetenskap och pedagogik samt empirisk kunskap från fältstudien med fokus på elevers perspektiv. Denna modell syftar till att lägga grunden för ett elevcentrerat tillvägagångssätt och introducerar steg för designförslag genom samarbeten med elever som de primära användarna.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Stockholm: KTH Royal Institute of Technology, 2025. p. 87
Series
TRITA-ABE-DLT ; 2542
Keywords
Spatial lighting distribution, activity-based lighting, human-scale, classroom, primary school, Rumslig ljusfördelning, Aktivitetsbaserad belysning, Mänsklig skala, Klassrum, Grundskola
National Category
Architecture
Research subject
Architecture, Architectural Technology
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-372126 (URN)978-91-8106-448-3 (ISBN)
Public defence
2025-11-21, F3, Lindstedtvägen 26, KTH Campus, public video conference link https://kth-se.zoom.us/j/63086499891, Stockholm, 13:00 (English)
Opponent
Supervisors
Funder
Bertil & Britt Svenssons Stiftelse för Belysningsteknik, 2020 vår-29Swedish Energy Agency, P2020-90036
Note

QC 20251028

Available from: 2025-10-28 Created: 2025-10-27 Last updated: 2025-11-03Bibliographically approved

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Angelaki, StavroulaDanielsson, ChristinaBesenecker, Ute

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